Tuesday 18 December 2012

12 shillings for a stamp.

Unbelievable. 60 pence for a postage stamp.

And if you have a slightly large Christmas card to post then it's worthwhile getting it measured otherwise the recipient will get fined a 'handling charge' of a pound if it's not fully funded.

The maximum measurements are....

Length: 240mm max Width: 165mm max Thickness: 5mm max weight : 0 to 100 g

Any card outwith this range and it's a bit of a lottery as to the cost.

If you're not in the house when the postie arrives and the card is not fully paid up and has money outstanding for postage then you will get a note saying that there is 'a packet' for you to collect at the sorting office. If it said 'card' then you would just ignore it and throw the note in the bin. But 'packet' gives you the impression that it's an exciting parcel waiting for you so the long wait in the cold will be worthwhile. Sadly they will probably just hand you a tattered Christmas card and charge you for the privilege. A minimum of a pound but possibly more.

The reasons for the long slow decline in our postal service are too numerous to mention and it will probably be totally privatised soon and will no longer be able to offer a fixed charge for anywhere in the country. Companies will cherry pick the most profitable parts and leave the rest to decline and wither.

The biggest disaster has been the various EU Directives that have forced the postal service to open up to competition. Overseas companies have been able to cherry pick all the best services. As usual the UK went further than required by the Directives and we now reap the results.

2 comments:

  1. Win Win for the Tories.

    EU directive that is right of centre;
    Tories implement it, but stick arms and legs on it;
    Tories blame the EU: "It's all the foreigners' fault";
    British public believe them *despite the fact that they lie incessantly, because by and large they hate foreigners even more than they hate the Tories;
    In the mean time the Tories get their dreadful right wing legislation through without taking the blame for it.

    It's a wonder B£air didn't think of blaming Iraq on the EU.

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  2. Hi tris...I was going to expand on the EU dimension but it was a bit boring and predictable. Plus no one seems interested in anything I write about the EU ;)
    But since you mentioned it...

    It was actually the Labour Party that put the arms and legs on the legislation.
    The Directive was in 1997. Expanded on by Labour via 'postcomm' and the Postal Service Act 2,000. Then in 2006 the market was opened further to competition.
    There's more nightmares ( remember Consignia ?) but you get the drift...chaos and incompetence with the white shoe boys filling their boots whenever they got the chance.

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